Building a case

Monday

Aug 11, 2014 at 12:01 AM

The labor ended long ago. But the lawsuits just keep coming.

Alex Breitler

The labor ended long ago. But the lawsuits just keep coming.

The largest new building constructed at San Joaquin Delta College since the 1970s was finished late last year. Students now enjoy modern laboratories and classrooms, where they're trained for jobs in the high-demand fields of science, math, engineering and technology.

Yet even while the building serves its purpose, a legal dispute over costly construction delays lumbers forward.

More than a year ago, the lead contractor sued Delta for $25 million, claiming the college changed the plans for the $40 million building at the last minute. That created more work, increased costs and forced delays, argued Cypress-based Taisei Construction Co.

Delta officials in late July responded with a countersuit accusing Taisei of failing to live up to its contract by not providing enough workers or adequately supervising their work, among other problems. Delta also accuses Taisei of submitting false claims for payment.

Left in the lurch are some of those who labored in the trenches. Several subcontractors have filed lawsuits of their own, claiming they have not been fully paid.

To sum up: The contractor sued the college, the college sued the contractor, and the subcontractors are suing both of them. The architect who designed the building is also targeted by both the contractor and the college.

It's a mess. But it's important to remember that the building itself is functioning fine, Delta President Kathy Hart said this week.

"We got a new building," she said. "The students seem happy, the teachers seem happy. Next week people will be in there teaching classes, students will be getting their credits, and they'll go on and become doctors and nurses."

The problem is that this knot of litigation, and the year-and-a-half delay in completing the building, is going to cost taxpayers. How much, Hart said she doesn't yet know.

Delta's new complaint seeks $532,000 in "liquidated damages" but says the real cost of everything that has transpired is unknown.

Hart indicated the case could ultimately be settled. In general, she said, "The sooner you can get this done, the better. You can dig in and say, 'We're not settling, we want to win in court,' but now it's going to cost you a gazillion dollars in legal fees."

Among the losers are the subcontractors. They include steelworkers, plumbers, painters, furnishers, elevator installers and general construction workers.

Julio Hallack, a floor installer based in Turlock, declined to speak publicly about his situation but wrote an editorial that he said is scheduled to appear in a trade publication.

Hallack wrote that Taisei hired him after another company walked away from the job. Hallack quickly found problems, writing that the project was "not disciplined at all."

"There were no doors," he wrote. "Heaters were scattered all over. The temperature was in the low 40s. There were wires hanging. The lighting was very poor. And they never gave us whole floors completed. They gave us rooms at a time, and we had to be hopping through construction materials, over all the trays and electrical cords. This was one of the more miserable jobs I have ever done."

Getting paid by Taisei was difficult, Hallack wrote. At one point he stopped working. He said he is still owed money.

"It was only about $20,000," he wrote. "But 20 grand is 20 grand. And I want my 20 grand."

Hart said the college feels badly for Hallack and other subcontractors. But the college cannot legally pay them, because their agreements were with the lead contractor who supervised the project, she said.

Jaysen Van, a spokesman for Taisei, said there indeed are "huge amounts" of money still owed to those workers.

"If (Delta) had paid Taisei, Taisei would have paid the subcontractors," Van said. "The poor subcontractors get caught in the middle. It's a bit of a vicious cycle."

Delta has hired outside attorneys to deal with the case. Still, even with legal fees and the cost of a potential settlement, the building may end up being a relative bargain. That's because Taisei's contract to build it was $30 million less than Delta had originally budgeted.

Taisei has been involved in similar disputes with El Camino College and the Palo Alto Unified School District, according to published reports. Buildings were delayed in both of those cases as well.

"Everybody was so excited about how cheap the (Delta) building was going to be," Hart said. "It's kind of like, be careful what you wish for."

Barring a settlement, the main litigation between the college and Taisei is scheduled to go to trial in early 2015.

Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/breitlerblog and on Twitter @alexbreitler.